flowers in your hair


The downpour starts late in the night and continues through the day without stopping. Tobirama knows because he hasn't slept – he spent the night staring out at the rain, his heart heavy in his chest. I will go to Uzushio, he hears, over and over again. I will go, I will go, I will go, with every beat of his aching heart. Mito is leaving, and whatever she has promised, Tobirama knows that she will never come back. Kenshin sent her to Konoha to remove a political rival, and now he needs her support. Mito is a veritable princess of Uzushio, and her people will not let her leave again.

Hashirama lays a hand on Tobirama's shoulder. His brother's voice is soft as he says, "Maybe this is for the best, Tobirama. She wasn't happy here."

Madara snorts. "And you think she will be happy in Uzushio, under her brother's thumb?" He's pacing the room, has been since they assembled this morning to greet Kenshin. Toka and Izuna are showing him Konoha in all its rain-drenched glory – Mito, Izuna said, hasn't left her room since the night before.

"He's not clever enough to manipulate her," Tobirama says. There's no heat behind it, though. All the anger had drained out of him last night, when he heard those awful, echoing words. I will go.

It's strange, to have Madara acting as the rational one. His voice is even and his eyes steady and dark as he says, "He's not. But Mito is young and, for all her intelligence, emotional; more so now that she is bound to the Kyuubi. Didn't you see her last night? She wants to please her brother, no matter the cost. To feel wanted is a powerful thing." His gaze sharpens, like he knows exactly why Tobirama left the village. Like he knows about that gods-damned kiss and how he had all but thrown himself at Mito without making her any promises, and then left her like the coward he is. I will go. I will go.

"I'm sorry, Tobirama," Hashirama says. He sounds so, so tired. Tobirama can see the guilt on his face – Tobirama is the last of Hashirama's younger brothers, and he knows Hashirama only wishes happiness for him. That doesn't make it any easier to bear; Hashirama's love was enough for Tobirama, once, but now he feels emptied out. Numb.

"Izuna offered to marry her," Madara says. "He thinks Kenshin wouldn't be able to refuse an alliance between the Uzumaki and the Uchiha."

It's like being doused in cold water. If Mito leaving hurts, then this… This is unbearable. "Izuna –"

"He's not going through with it," Madara cuts him off. "Mito said she wouldn't take that happiness from him. She's determined to return to Uzushio without incident."

"And you're going to let her go?" Tobirama looks at his brother, and for the first time since they were children, since his younger brothers died, he lets desperation leak into his voice. "Please." He hates how raw his voice sounds, hates the way it breaks. "Please, brother."

Hashirama shakes his head. "I'm sorry," he says again. He reaches out, but Tobirama is already out the door.


The rain is still coming down in thick sheets when Kenshin slips into Mito's room. His crimson hair is rain-slick and sticking to his cheeks. She looks away as he settles next to her, his wet sleeve barely brushing hers. "Do you remember?" he asks her, and in his voice she can hear the echo of her father's, low and sweet and achingly familiar. "When we were children, and father fell ill."

"We spent the whole night in his room, you and me and Kenji." Mito tilts her head, lets it rest against his shoulder. "Kenji fell asleep on my lap."

"You were always his favorite," Kenshin murmurs.

"And you were always father's," Mito counters. "Kenji needed a mother. He's always loved you, too."

Kenshin hums, considering. "You were father's darling." Where once there would have been an accusation, there isn't even a trace of bitterness. They are older now, she and Kenshin, changed by the loss of their father and the weight of the responsibilities that settle heavy on their shoulders.

Mito sighs, sits up straight again and turns to look at him. Kenshin is beautiful in profile, even half-drowned from the rain and bruised from last night's altercation. "Father loved me," she agrees, "but you were his hope for Uzushio. Whatever anyone else says, he always intended for Uzushio to pass to you. Even you can't deny that."

They lapse into silence, Kenshin watching the rain and Mito watching him. The minutes stretch on, the only sound his breathing, low and even, and the constant rain. And then, abruptly, Kenshin stands. "I shouldn't have sent you away," he says, more to himself than to her. "I shouldn't have sent you here." He paces the room, and Mito remains where she is, still and cautious. In the back of her mind, Kurama stirs, interested and faintly anxious. Kenshin stills, takes a deep breath. He looks so much older than Mito remembers, and somehow so incredibly young at the same time. Vulnerable. "Do you want to come back?" he asks her. "Do you want to go back to Uzushio?"

Tell him the truth, Kurama urges, quiet and soft, barely a whisper in her mind.

Mito hesitates – and she knows Kenshin sees that hesitation for what it is. For all their differences, he's always been able to read her best. "I miss the ocean," she tells him. "I miss the sand and the salt and the sea. I miss Kenji. I miss you."

He sighs, heavy and resigned. "Mito."

"I've already given you my word, Kenshin. I will go back to Uzushio." She closes her eyes, feels the hot sting of tears behind her eyelids. "Please don't ask me to lie to you."

Soft, hesitant footsteps, and then Kenshin presses his lips against her forehead. Mito opens her eyes, blinks in surprise, but his back is already to her. "I'm sorry, Mito," he says, pausing in the doorway. He doesn't look back. "Maybe – Maybe it's for the best. You can come home, and forget everything here." He slips into the hallway, quiet as a wraith, and Mito is alone again.

The silence looms. Kurama withdraws to the far recess of her mind, quiet and gloomy. She wonders if it's her mood affecting him or the other way around. The room feels too large without Kenshin, too empty and dark. She wishes, desperately, wildly, to go back to the days before she left Uzushio. She wants, just once more, to feel her father's arms around her. To hear his voice calling her name, to see his fond smile one last time.

Mito thinks of Uzushio, of its shining buildings and turquoise waves and the gulls shrieking overhead. She thinks of the sand beneath her bare feet, of flowers braided into her long hair, of Kenji running out into the waves. She misses it – she misses Uzushio, misses Kenji, misses the carefree days of her youth. She misses the childhood that she was forced to abandon. But –

I don't want to go back, she confesses to Kurama. I don't want to leave.

His answer is a caress. I know, little one. A pause, and then – You are stronger now. You can decide for yourself. You can fight for what you want.

He is my brother, Mito tells Kurama. I gave him my word. He is offering me everything I wanted.

You are different now. We are different. It is up to you, Mito. I would go anywhere with you. Decide which path to take – which path you can live with. Kurama retreats again, back to whatever corner of her mind has become his home. He leaves her with a feeling of warmth, though, and brightness. Something like hope, maybe.

Sighing, Mito pulls her haori tighter around herself. She has a few days before they leave for Uzushio – she has time to decide, time to convince Kenshin to let her stay. Or time for Madara and Hashirama to convince Kenshin. Mito is not accustomed to trusting other people to act for her, but Madara… For all his darkness, regardless of Kurama's fear of the sharingan, she trusts him.

Resolved, she stands. If anyone can help her say in Konoha, it's Madara. Mito walks to the door and slides it open and –

And her breath catches in her throat. Tobirama stands in front of her, his chest heaving, with bruises under his eyes and a split lip. He is achingly beautiful, even with a red bruise blooming on his cheek and blood smeared down the side of his neck. He smells of alcohol and rain. His voice is rough and broken when he says, "Marry me, Mito."


wow apparently i'm incapable of updating when i say i'm going to. in my defense, i had finals, i had to move, and then i had a show, so. it's been crazy.

but hey! we only have six chapters left! this one is a lil shorter than i wanted it to be, but i wanted to update, and more is coming! i leave for greece in a month, so there won't be any updates in july and the first bit of august, but i'll try to get as much up as i can before i leave. who knows, maybe i'll be crazy and finish it in the next couple weeks. as always, thanks so much for reading! it means a lot to me, and your reviews cheer me up whenever i'm having a bad day, i literally come back and reread them all the time. also! do you guys want the rating to stay t and be vague or go up to m and be less vague? asking for future shenanigans. i've never actually posted smutty things but i am totally down to if that's something people want